From Wednesday September 22 in the morning, the photos of the “front page” of Paris Match electrify laptop screens. We see the almost presidential candidate of 2022 Eric Zemmour bathing in the azure blue sea of La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var) with his closest advisor, Sarah Knafo, a young enarque of 28 years.
CNews, the channel which served as a springboard for the former journalist, devotes several debates to the weekly “scoop”. Opinions differ. Some praise the fantastic communication stunt of the far-right polemicist, who thus enters the very closed club of candidates and presidents appearing in swimsuits on the cover of Match, from Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to Jacques Chirac, including Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal.
Others, the fiercest supporters of Eric Zemmour, howl at the despicable attack against their champion. Had he not warned them, during his meeting in Nice, that they should not “Not believe” what one would say of him, implying that he would be the object of personal attacks? The weekly for its part vigorously denies everything “Arrangement” with Zemmour. “We formally reject the idea that the photos taken on the beach [sur lesquelles Eric Zemmour enlace Sarah Knafo] have been the subject of any agreement with him “, says the editor of the weekly, Bruno Jeudy.
In the spring, the latter commissioned Emilie Lanez, an experienced journalist, to write an article on Eric Zemmour, a rising star of the hard right. This one refuses interview and photos. The reporter investigates the relatives of the polemicist and takes the measure of the considerable role of Sarah Knafo, adviser to the Court of Auditors, in the transformation of the journalist into a candidate.
Always at the request of Paris Match, the photographer Pascal Rostain “hides” a week in the wake of Zemmour. It follows it when it moves to the Figaro, at CNews, when he goes to conferences, to his family home – where his wife and children live – and that of his advisor, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. The feather of the Figaro and the police in charge of its protection can hardly ignore the presence of the photographer. The article is published in the July 8-14 edition, illustrated by a photo of Zemmour in the street.
At the heart of the reactor
A month and a half later, as Eric Zemmour’s new book (France has not said its last word, Rubempré, 352 pages, 21.90 euros) is announced and that his presidential candidacy seems imminent, Bruno Jeudy asks Emilie Lanez to investigate this time on the one that everyone describes in the entourage of the polemicist as “A brilliant young woman”, which would have become indispensable to him. Sarah Knafo is, in fact, at the heart of the reactor. She writes files for Zemmour, recruits her teams, leads meetings, organizes the search for the 500 sponsorships necessary for any presidential candidacy, even goes to appointments in her place. It is she who hires Olivier Ubéda, former close to Nicolas Sarkozy and Bruno Le Maire, who works hand in hand with the communication advisor Frank Tapiro, a former sarkozyste also, who now helps Zemmour discreetly.
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